* Posts by Ben

10 publicly visible posts • joined 31 May 2008

Microsoft Bing rehosts Wikifiddling as 'Reference' material

Ben
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Money (and verified facts) down the drain?

What with all the money Microsoft spend putting Encarta together over the years, I would have thought that they would have resused that verified library of information wherever possible rather than just dump it

Vista to XP 'downgrade' lawsuit revised

Ben

Eh?

I find this slightly bizarre

What other company allows you to buy one version of the software and 'downgrade' for free? isn't it usually if you want that version, you fork out for in IN FULL

Does Apple allow free downgrades through OS X? In fact can you even officially buy older versions once the new one comes out?

Behind IE 8's big incompatibility list

Ben

Aaarrrgh!

This has nothing to do with whether Microsoft are following them.

This is all about websites treating IE8 as IE7/6/5/4/3 and serving up crap pages - which as IE8 now defaults to standards - breaks the pages!

Exactly the same would probably happen if Firefox/Opera or Safari got served the crap the sites are serving to IE8

The compatbility mode/list is Microsoft trying to fix the sites that are broken - but only until the site can serve the standards page to IE8!

Ben

No-one is getting it!

Sigh.

*I've coded my site to treat IE8 as IE7*

Well isn't that unhelpful. Maybe you should code your site to treat IE8 as a standards browser instead. Serve it the same page as Firefox and Opera.

*It's Microsoft's fault for building crappy browsers in the past*

Yes maybe it is, but it's also a webdev's fault for bad browser detection (see above). It's no better than software developers that used to hardcode DirectX versions into their programs (3dmark for instance), which then threw a wobbly when a newer version was released.

*Well I'll stick to Firefox, my website works fine with that'*

Yes your website might. But if the corporates can be persuade to start building or updating sites for IE8 in standards mode (rather than forcing IE8 to render as IE7 and below), then they will also be able to support Firefox and Opera and Safari without having to do anything. No more 'You cannot log onto Internet Banking because we use coding hacks for IE'

Result all around I think

I'm not a Microsoft fan in the least, and when Microsoft write crappy stuff people complain because they write crappy stuff - which is fair enough

But when Microsoft change their crappy stuff and write something that works *mostly* as everyone has been asking it should, people complain because it breaks all the previous sites that only worked with the crappy stuff!

Ben

Am I missing something here?

***Microsoft will need to make the case for support for IE 8***

I thought the whole point of IE8 is that Microsoft DOESN'T have to do that.

What website owners DO have to do that is treat IE8 exactly the same as Firefox and Safari and Opera and any other standards browser and just serve exactly the same page as for everyone else

So no more blanket <if IE> tags/scripts.

It is only IE7 and below that will need special pages

Microsoft's Automatic Update - the way to browser competition?

Ben

3 Modes

@ John Phellis

No, IE 8 has 3 modes

Quirks - which is basicsally IE 6 and below

IE 7 Standards - which is IE 7

and

Standards - IE 8's default mode and the one that passes ACID 2 and CSS 2.1

http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/03/03/microsoft-s-interoperability-principles-and-ie8.aspx

Ben
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Eh??!

"According to Lie, though, this will create a problem for browser makers like Opera as they, too, will need to include separate rendering engines and code to replicate the behavior of IE 8 for web sites"

Unless I completely mistaken, no they won't.

All that a site will need to identify is IE 7 and below, all the other browsers (IE 8 included) should just be served the standards site

And why would Opera want to make their browser render as badly as previous IE versions anyway?

Microsoft's IE 8 beta adds 'special' list

Ben

IE 8 User Agent String

@Glenn Gilbert

If IE 8 is running in Comptability Mode it identifies itself as IE 7

See here http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2009/01/09/the-internet-explorer-8-user-agent-string-updated-edition.aspx

Virgin Media and BPI join forces to attack illegal filesharing

Ben

Perspective

"To the people who get a letter, my advice therefore is to notify Virgin media that you return the letter from the BPI and Virgin Media with a "Data Subject Access Request", detailing that you suspect that an unlawful disclosure of your personal data may have taken place."

You can do that if you like, will be of no use. Virgin are being passed information by the BPI not the other way around. Virgin are sending both letters. the BPI will have no access to any customer information.

"Why doesn't Virgin Media bother doing this for people accessing other illegal content on the net? Why is it that they are taking action against people downloading music rather than someone committing a real crime like downloading child porn?"

Virgin are being given information by the BPI on this. Child Porn downloaders are usually identified by the Police. I doub't they would want a warning letter sent going 'We know what you are downloading'

Microsoft urges Windows users to shun 'carpet bombing' Safari

Ben
Jobs Horns

Amazing

Blame Microsoft for a problem with Apple??! How is it a Microsoft problem?

Apple wrote Safari no matter which OS it is on. Apple set it to automatically download. Apple apparently can't be bothered to fix the security hole.

I'm not a big fan of Microsoft, but I really can't see how they be blamed (this time)